Method and device for managing thumbnail of three-dimensional contents

Abstract

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a display and a processor electrically connected with the display and a memory and configured to use a first content in a 3-dimensional (3D) space in response to executing the first content, render an area corresponding to a field of view (FOV), and store information relating to the FOV in the memory as metadata of the first content in response to a specified event.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device comprising:
 a display; 
 a communication interface; 
 a memory storing instructions; and 
 at least one processor configured to execute the stored instructions to: 
 implement a first content in a 3-dimensional (3D) virtual space; 
 obtain a user's gaze information from a head mounted display (HMD) device connected to the electronic device based on a movement of the user wearing the HMD device through the communication interface while the first content is reproduced; 
 determine a field of view (FOV) based on the gaze information; 
 render an area corresponding to the FOV of the first content being implemented in the 3D virtual space; 
 store information relating to the FOV in the memory as metadata of the first content in response to a specified event; and 
 store at least a portion of the area corresponding to the FOV in the memory as a thumbnail of the first content in response to the specified event, 
 wherein the thumbnail of the first content is generated based on, at least, a reference point corresponding to a center position of the FOV, 
 wherein an initial gaze information at a time in which the first content begins to be reproduced is defined to correspond to a particular region of the first content in advance of the first content being reproduced, 
 wherein at least one of a size, a resolution, and a horizontal to vertical ratio of the thumbnail is determined based on the reference point and a characteristic of an application executing the first content, and 
 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: 
 generate a thumbnail cache in a plurality of sizes to support views of the plurality of sizes, and 
 link and store a key value for identifying the first content and the thumbnail when generating the thumbnail cache. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to generate the thumbnail of the first content based on the metadata and a characteristic of an application executing the first content. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the first content corresponds to one of a 360-degree image and 3D virtual reality data. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the first content corresponds to a 360-degree video. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to additionally store, in the metadata, presentation time stamp (PTS) information of the first content at the time when the specified event occurred. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to:
 display a contents list including the first content on the display; and 
 display the thumbnail of the first content in the contents list based on the metadata. 
 
     
     
       7. The electronic device of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to execute the first content in response to a selection of the thumbnail of the first content. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the specified event corresponds to an instruction to end the first content. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to re-execute the first content based on the metadata, after execution of the first content ends. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to re-execute the first content based on the PTS information and the information relating to the FOV, after execution of the first content ends. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to determine a reproduction location of a second content based on whether FOV information exists in metadata of the second content, in response to implementing the second content. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to reproduce the second content from the FOV when the FOV information exists in the metadata of the second content. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to reproduce the second content from a pre-defined reference location when the FOV information does not exist in the metadata of the second content. 
     
     
       14. An electronic device comprising:
 a memory storing instructions; 
 a communication interface; 
 a display; and 
 at least one processor configured to execute the stored instructions to: 
 implement a first content in a three-dimensional (3D) virtual space; 
 obtain a user's gaze information from a head mounted display (HMD) device connected to the electronic device based on a movement of the user wearing the HMD device through the communication interface while the first content is reproduced; 
 determine a field of view (FOV) based on the gaze information; 
 render an area corresponding to a field of view (FOV) of the first content; 
 store a thumbnail of the first content generated based on, at least, a reference point corresponding to a center position of the FOV in the memory in response to ending implementing of the first content; and 
 store at least a portion of the area corresponding to the FOV in the memory as a thumbnail of the first content in response to the specified event, wherein an initial gaze information at a time in which the first content begins to be reproduced is defined to correspond to a particular region of the first content in advance of the first content being reproduced, wherein at least one of a size, a resolution, and a horizontal to vertical ratio of the thumbnail is determined based on the reference point and a characteristic of an application executing the first content, and 
 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: 
 generate a thumbnail cache in a plurality of sizes to support views of the plurality of sizes, and 
 link and store a key value for identifying the first content and the thumbnail when generating the thumbnail cache. 
 
     
     
       15. The electronic device of  claim 14 , wherein the information relating to the FOV includes coordinates of a center point of the FOV. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to:
 execute an application to display a contents list including a plurality of thumbnails on the display; and 
 generate the thumbnail of the first content based on a size of an area where a defined thumbnail is displayed in the application and the information relating to the FOV. 
 
     
     
       17. The electronic device of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the stored instructions to link and store the thumbnail and a key value of the first content in the memory, and wherein the key value of the first content includes at least one of a path along which the first content is stored and a date when the first content is generated. 
     
     
       18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of an electronic device, allow the electronic device to:
 implement a first content in a 3-dimensional (3D) virtual space; 
 obtain a user's gaze information from a head mounted display (HMD) device connected to the electronic device based on a movement of the user wearing the HMD device through the communication interface while the first content is reproduced; 
 determine a field of view (FOV) based on the gaze information; 
 render an area corresponding to a field of view (FOV) of the first content being implemented in the 3D virtual space; 
 store information relating to the FOV in the memory as metadata of the first content in response to a specified event; and 
 store at least a portion of the area corresponding to the FOV in the memory as a thumbnail of the first content in response to the specified event, 
 wherein the thumbnail of the first content is generated based on, at least, a reference point corresponding to a center position of the FOV, 
 wherein an initial gaze information at a time in which the first content begins to be reproduced is defined to correspond to a particular region of the first content in advance of the first content being reproduced, 
 wherein at least one of a size, a resolution, and a horizontal to vertical ratio of the thumbnail is determined based on the reference point and a characteristic of an application executing the first content, and 
 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: 
 generate a thumbnail cache in a plurality of sizes to support views of the plurality of sizes, and 
 link and store a key value for identifying the first content and the thumbnail when generating the thumbnail cache.